Food Crisper via Condensation Trap Cup

ABSTRACT

A “condensation cup” for inducing condensation on the cup&#39;s surface in order to keep hot food dry and crispy. By filling the condensation cup with cold liquid and positioning it inside a closed container with hot food, the condensation cup will induce condensation from the ambient air inside the container. This invention focuses on controlling the aggregate uninsulated surface area of cup. By matching the aggregate uninsulated surface area of the cup with the amount of contained hot food, the preferred condensation cup can pull condensate from the air. This induced condensation keeps hot food dry and crispy without cooling the food.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to preventing hot food from getting soggy, and more particularly to keeping bagged or contained food from getting soggy during transportation or storage.

BACKGROUND

Hot food delivery food often arrives soggy because food containers trap condensation inside the container. As a result, condensate comes to rest on the food or settles on the bottom of the inside of a food delivery container, resulting in undesirable, soggy food. Food stored temporarily for delivery, or stored long term, can be ruined by condensation forming on the food.

Some previous solutions rely on a stand-alone cold absorbent structure to create a temperature below the dew point temperature to force condensation onto the absorbent structure, which is then wicked and trapped away from the food. However, adding a cold element to a fast food container adds an additional step to the process. What is needed is a solution to soggy food delivery that does not require the addition of a separate cold element, but uses a cold element already present in most fast food deliveries.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

Broadly, this invention centers on various embodiments of a specialized “condensation cup.” When the condensation cup is filled with cold liquid and positioned inside a closed container with hot food, the condensation cup will induce condensation from the ambient air inside the container. Inducing condensation on the surface of the cup keeps condensation off the hot food, so the hot food can stay dry and crispy. This invention focuses on controlling the aggregate uninsulated surface area of cup. By matching the aggregate uninsulated surface area of the cup with the amount of contained hot food, the preferred condensation cup can pull condensate from the air without materially cooling the food.

In operation, it is preferred to use the condensation cup inside a typical fast food bag containing items such as burgers and fries. But the container could be most any container that can be closed. And the food could be most any food that the user wants to keep hot and dry during transportation and storage.

There are many different ways to manufacture a condensation cup suitable for this invention. Several embodiments are described in detail below. The common thread to all embodiments is that the aggregate uninsulated surface area of the condensation cup is within a range that matches the amount of hot food being contained. In other words, the aggregate uninsulated surface area of the condensation cup should vary depending on the amount of hot food in the container. The preferred ratio of aggregate uninsulated surface area to grams of hot food is 3.5 square inches per every 400 grams of hot food. But an aggregate uninsulated surface area in the range of 1 square inch per 400 grams of hot food to 7 square inches per 400 grams of hot food has been found suitable.

The preferred condensation cup is partly insulated and partly uninsulated. There are many ways to achieve this. The preferred embodiment is to start with a typical double wall insulated cup having airspace between the inner and outer walls. The double wall cup can be modified by perforating the outside wall to expose the inside wall to the ambient air inside the container. The perforations can be sized to suit the amount of contained food. Another embodiment is to use a slidable sleeve with an uninsulated single wall cup. The slidable sleeve can have perforations to expose an aggregate surface area of the single wall cup to the ambient air inside the container. A third embodiment is to use an insulated single wall cup having some uninsulated surface areas. A fourth embodiment is to manufacture an insulated single wall insulated cup having some uninsulated surface areas, but also using a slidable sleeve comprising perforations that can match the uninsulated surface areas of the uninsulated cup when the sleeve is rotated. This fourth embodiment enables manual adjustment of the exposed uninsulated surface areas through rotation of the slidable sleeve. These embodiments are discussed in more detail below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be more readily appreciated upon reference to the following disclosure when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein reference numerals are used to identify the components in the various views.

FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of a double wall cup with areas of exposed single wall. As shown, the outside wall is perforated and the perimeter of the perforations is blocked so outside air cannot flow between double wall.

FIG. 2 illustrates a perspective section view of the double wall cup from FIG. 1 .

FIG. 3 illustrates a perspective section view of the double wall cup from FIG. 1 .

FIG. 4 illustrates a perspective section view of the double wall cup from FIG. 1 .

FIG. 5 illustrates a perspective section view of the double wall cup from FIG. 1 .

FIG. 6 illustrates a perspective view of a single wall cup having a slidable sleeve, the slidable sleeve having perforations that expose the single wall when mounted on the single wall cup. As shown, the outside wall is perforated and the perimeter of the perforations is blocked so outside air cannot flow between double wall.

FIG. 7 illustrates another perspective view of a single wall cup having a slidable sleeve.

FIG. 8 illustrates a side view of a single wall cup having a slidable sleeve.

FIG. 9 illustrates a side view of a single wall cup having a slidable sleeve with the lid separated from the cup.

FIG. 10 illustrates an exploded side view of a single wall cup having a slidable sleeve.

FIG. 11 illustrates an exploded section view of a single wall cup having a slidable sleeve.

FIG. 12 illustrates a section view of a single wall cup having a slidable sleeve. Note that the slidable sleeve is snug against the single-wall cup, which limits air on the outside of the single wall cup from getting between the single wall and the slidable sleeve.

FIG. 13 illustrates a perspective view of an insulated single wall cup with perforations exposing an uninsulated wall underneath and a slidable sleeve, the slidable sleeve having perforations that expose the uninsulated wall when mounted on the single wall cup.

FIG. 14 illustrates another perspective view of FIG. 13 with the lid removed.

FIG. 15 is an exploded view of the cup in FIG. 12 .

FIG. 16 is a perspective section view of the cup in FIG. 12 .

FIG. 17 is an exploded section view of the cup in FIG. 13 .

FIG. 18 illustrates a side view of a cup having a slidable sleeve with a condensate reservoir.

FIG. 19 illustrates a section view of the slidable sleeve with a condensate reservoir of FIG. 18 .

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

In general, the condensation cup can be almost any cup. The preferred condensation cup comprises both insulated and uninsulated surface areas. For the purposes of this specification an uninsulated surface area would preferably have thermal conductance greater than 0.001 Watts/Kelvin under normal atmospheric conditions (i.e., temperature=25 C and pressure=1 ATM). Likewise, for the purposes of this specification an insulated surface area would preferably have thermal conductance less than 0.00015 Watts/Kelvin under normal atmospheric conditions, although thermal conductance less than 0.0003 would be suitable.

The aggregate uninsulated surface area should be sized to suit the amount of contained food. And the balance of the surface area of the condensation cup should be insulated. When the condensation cup is contains liquid that is colder than the hot food and the condensation cup is placed into a container with hot food, the uninsulated surface area induces condensation without materially cooling the hot food.

The preferred ratio of aggregate uninsulated surface area to grams of hot food is: 3.5 square inches per every 400 grams of hot food. But an aggregate uninsulated surface area in the range of 1 square inch per 400 grams of hot food to 7 square inches per 400 grams of hot food has been found suitable.

For example, a typical burger weighs between 225 grams and 350 grams and a typical single serving of fries weighs between 90 and 150 grams. Thus, a container with a single burger and fry combination can be expected to have a hot food weight between of 315 and 500 grams. In that case, a condensation cup comprising 2.75 to 4.38 square inches of uninsulated surface area would be preferred, and a range of 0.79 to 8.75 square inches would be suitable. Of course, this is an example of how one could adjust the aggregate uninsulated surface area to match the amount of hot food and cold drinks being contained.

Embodiment #1: Double Wall Cup with Perforations

FIGS. 1-5 illustrate the preferred embodiment of the condensation cup 10. The preferred condensation cup 10 has a double wall 12 connected to a base 14. The double wall 12 and base 14 enclose an inside chamber 8 for holding liquid. The double wall 12 comprises an inner wall 16, an outer wall 18 and a space 20 between the inner and outer walls.

A perforation 22 through the outer wall exposes an outside face 24 of the inner wall 16 to ambient air outside the cup. A barrier 26 is positioned along a perimeter of the perforation 22 to keep ambient air from entering into the space 20.

Embodiment #2: Single Wall Cup Slidable Sleeve

FIGS. 6-12 illustrate a second embodiment. In this embodiment, the condensation cup 10 comprises a single uninsulated wall 40 connected to the base 14. Together, the single wall 40 and base 14 enclose an inside chamber 8 for holding liquid. The single wall has an insulating layer 42 connected to an outside face of the single uninsulated wall 40. Of note is that the insulating layer 42 only partially covers the outside face of the uninsulated single wall 40. The preferred insulating layer 43 has perforations 44 that expose the single uninsulated wall 40 when the insulating layer 42 is mounted on the single uninsulated wall 40. The preferred insulating layer 42 is a slidable sleeve connected to the outside face of the uninsulated single wall 40 via a friction. The insulating layer 42, however, does not need to be a sliding sleeve. The insulating layer 42 could be adhered to the single uninsulated wall 40. Or, the insulating sleeve could be formed as one with the single wall 40. This could be done with a mold in order to have part of the cup with a single uninsulated wall and part of the cup having an insulated wall.

Regardless of whether the insulating layer 42 is a slidable sleeve or permanently mounted on the single uninsulated wall 40, the insulating layer 42, the important part is that an aggregate surface area of uninsulated single wall 40 is exposed to the ambient air outside the condensation cup 10. In this way, the aggregate area of the uninsulated single wall 40 exposed to the ambient air outside the condensation cup 10 can be sized to induce condensation without cooling the food.

Embodiment #3: Insulated Single Wall Cup Having Uninsulated Sections, and Embodiment #4: Insulated Single Wall Cup Having Uninsulated Sections with Slidable Sleeve

FIGS. 13-17 illustrate two more alternate embodiments. In the third embodiment, the condensation cup 10 comprises an insulated wall 60 having sections of uninsulated wall 62. Together, the insulated wall 60 and base 14 enclose an inside chamber 8 for holding liquid.

The fourth embodiment adds a slidable sleeve 64 to the third embodiment. The slidable sleeve 64 has perforations 66. It is preferred to position the perforations on the slidable sleeve 64 so that they match up with the sections of uninsulated wall 62. In this way, the slidable sleeve 64 can be rotated relative to the insulated wall 60 so that the size of the opening and be manually adjusted.

Manufacturing the various embodiments of the condensation cup 10 can vary. Most any material typically used for cups can be used and long as the material can comprise an insulated section and an uninsulated section. The aggregate uninsulated areas can be contiguous or they can comprise a plurality of smaller sections. A double wall air gap configuration could be configured to allow condensate to drain, using gravity, to the bottom of the perforation as shown in FIGS. 18 and 19 . By way of example, a contiguous anulus strip of absorbent material could be added to the bottom of the perforation to prevent condensate from draining to form a puddle, of sorts, beneath the beverage. The beverage wrap or sleeve shown in FIGS. 18 and 19 (or some other covering) may have open areas to allow for condensate to drain. Alternatively, the sleeve, wrap or other kind of covering may be absorbent.

For this invention to extract moisture from the air, some cold surface from the beverage container must be exposed to the air inside the food delivery bag or container. It is best for the exposed cold surfaces to be as high above the hot food as is reasonable. However, it is not unexpected for users to drink from their cold beverage prior to packaging of the food. Thus, an alternative embodiment is to position the uninsulated sections lower on the condensation cup. By doing so, the cold liquid will continue to pull condensate from the air after some of the beverage has been consumed.

As an alternative, hot food can be stored in the same way. By enclosing hot food with the condensation cup filled with cold liquid, the hot food can stay hot and dry.

The embodiments and examples set forth herein were presented in order to best explain the present invention and its practical applications and to thereby enable those of ordinary skill in the art to make and use the invention. However, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the foregoing description and examples have been presented for the purposes of illustration and example only. The description as set forth is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in light of the teachings above without departing from the spirit and scope of the forthcoming claims. Accordingly, any components of the present invention indicated in the photos or herein are given as an example of possible components and not as a limitation. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A cup for keeping food dry, the cup comprising, a double wall connected to a base, the wall and base enclosing an inside chamber for holding liquid, the double wall comprising an inner wall, an outer wall and a space between the inner and outer walls, a perforation through the outer wall that exposes an outside face of the inner wall to ambient air, and a barrier positioned along a perimeter of the perforation to keep ambient air from entering into the space.
 2. A cup for keeping food dry, the cup comprising, a single wall connected to a base, the single wall and base enclosing an inside chamber for holding liquid, an insulating layer connected to an outside face of the single wall, the insulating layer only partially covering the outside face, wherein an aggregate surface area of uninsulated single wall is of a size predetermined to induce condensation without cooling the food.
 3. The cup of claim 2, the insulating layer is an insulating sleeve connected to the outside face via a friction.
 4. A food transportation device, the food transportation device comprising a container containing hot food, a cup inside the container containing cold liquid, the cup comprising an insulated section and an uninsulated section, the uninsulated section sized to induce condensation without cooling the hot food.
 5. A method of transporting food, the method comprising the steps of, placing food in a container, the food comprising a first temperature, placing a cup comprising liquid in the container, the liquid comprising a second temperature, the second temperature lower than the first temperature, the cup comprising an insulated section and an uninsulated section, the uninsulated section sized to induce condensation without cooling the hot food, and closing the container for transportation.
 6. A method of storing food, the method comprising the steps of, placing food in a container, the food comprising a first temperature, placing a cup comprising liquid in the container, the liquid comprising a second temperature, the second temperature lower than the first temperature, the cup comprising an insulated section and an uninsulated section, the uninsulated section sized to induce condensation without cooling the hot food, and closing the container for storage. 